


Twin Crystals

by pinkcathead



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Childhood, Clone Wars, F/M, Gen, Mentioned Galen Erso - Freeform, Mentioned Lyra Erso, Other, POV Alternating, POV Cassian Andor, POV Jyn Erso, Twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-11 03:02:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17438699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinkcathead/pseuds/pinkcathead
Summary: On Jyn's sixth birthday, her mother gave her a Kyber crystal necklace. As she looked into it, she could feel the crystal looking into her, pulling on the threads of her fate. Cassian's birthday couldn't be more different. Usually, no one even remembered his birthday. Somehow, he, too, can both feel his threads being pulled onward, toward something or someone he can't define. Is this fate? Did they have a choice? Do they want one?





	1. Jyn's 6th Birthday

On Jyn’s sixth birthday, her mother gave her a Kyber crystal necklace. Jyn was entranced by it. As she stared, the pendant seemed to grow hot in her hand and illuminated her fingers with the memory of forgotten stars. It’s presence grew in her mind as she focused, drawing her into its core.

“You must keep your necklaces safe,” Lyra told Jyn and Hama. “They will keep you safe in return. This way, you’ll always be able to find each other if get lost.”

“Twin crystals for twin girls,” remarked their Uncle Saw. “It’s a powerful gift. Do you think they can handle it?”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to teach them,” returned Galen. “But, they’re smart girls. I’m sure they’ll pick it up.”

Jyn continued to stare at the crystal. As she looked, she realized she wasn’t staring at her own hands. They were Hama’s hands holding Hama’s crystal. She focused harder on the crystal and it started to grow hot as she stared into it’s core. Brighter and more intense it grew. It was starting to sting her skin as though an ancient fire were trying to escape into her body from deep within the crystal. Suddenly, Hama yelped and dropped her crystal.

“Mama! It burned me!” Hama cried. Her hands had turned an angry red and were already blistering where the crystal had touched her skin. With the connection to the crystal broken, Jyn looked back at her own hands, red and hot but not damaged. Just a moment ago, she’d been so certain these were Hama’s hands, but now they seemed no different than her hands always had. She’d seen the yellow and purple friendship bracelet Maia had given Hama last autumn and which Hama always dutifully wore. “So everyone can tell you apart,” Maia claimed. But, now as she looked again at her hands, she only her own blue and green bracelet. How could she have been so certain it was her twin sister’s hands a moment ago and not her own? True, sometimes they felt as two parts of a whole person, but this was different. She’d seen through Hama’s eyes. Or she thought she had. Maybe it wasn’t real.

“You have to be careful, my little Millaflowers,” Lyra cooed as she soothed Hama’s blistering skin. “The crystals will help you focus. You can use them to calm your mind, see more clearly. But, if you don’t learn to control them, you’ll awaken the star inside and you can get burned.”

“Mama, I saw Hama’s hands,” Jyn nearly whispered, still stunned.

“Yes, my love.” Galen picked her up and perched her on his knee. “These crystals are very special. You and your ister have a special connection. The Force is with you and flows between you two. These crystals will help you strengthen the connection. It’s a powerful gift, Stardust, but one that comes with a lot of responsibility. Do you think you can learn to take care of it, my sunbeam?” Hama, her hands now bandaged, had inched forward to stand at Galen’s other side.

“Yes, Papa,” Hama responded.

“What about you, Stardust? Do you think you can learn?” Galen moved a stray piece of hair from Jyn’s face.

“Yes, Papa. We’ll learn.” Jyn wasn’t at all certain what she was agreeing to, but it was important to make Mama and Papa happy. Sometimes they looked so sadly at her and Hama, as though they might vanish at any moment. Jyn could hardly stand it. They should be happy.

“I’m so proud of you, my sweet girls,” Lyra nearly chocked out as Jyn wiggled to get back on the ground. Her eyes had turned that strange misty shade that made Jyn think she could see something no one else could. It was all so strange. Wasn’t this supposed to be the day of the birthday party? Shouldn’t birthdays be happy days?

“We’re all proud of you,” Saw broke in grasping Lyra’s hand to reassure her. “We’re all in this together, you know. We’re family.” Jyn had no idea what he was talking about. Uncle saw was Mama’s half brother. Of course he was family. Uncle Saw was her big, protective uncle. He taught her to swim and let her run around outside without her shoes on, something Mama and Papa would never let her do. Of course he was family. What else could he be? So, why did everyone look so scared and sad?

“Why is everyone so sad? It’s our birthday today. Can we have some cake now?” Hama had a way of saying exactly the thing that Jyn was thinking, almost like they shared a brain.

Galen laughed his deep, rumbling laugh, the one that came from the heart of his chest and rose up until it had to break free. Jyn loved that one best because she knew he was truly happy in that moment. “No yet. Let’s wait for your Uncle Orson and the other party guests to get here first. In the mean time, who wants to help me put of all these streamers?”

“I do! I do!” Jyn shouted. They were by far her favorite decoration. She loved the way they twisted and draped across the room, almost as though they had a mind of their own and already knew how to be beautiful and just needed you to let them out of the box.

“Can I blow up the balloons? Can I?” Balloons were Hama’s favorite part of any party and she’d go out of her way to find them, blow them up and watch them hover as if by magic above the ground, near the ceiling and out the window into the atmosphere.

“Absolutely!” Uncle Saw gathered Hama up in his large arms. “Just, try not to let them escape this time, eh? After the last party, it took your poor Mama nearly a month to get the balloons out of the large staircase.”

“I can’t wait for Uncle Orsen to get here!” Jyn announced and the room instantly froze over. “I want to show him our new necklaces! He’ll be so impressed that you and Mama trust us with them!” Uncle Orson, who was sometimes called Commander Krennic by the other officers at the military academy, was always talking about the importance of responsibility and how Jyn and Hama owed it to everyone to do well in school and grow up into responsible citizens. She was certain that he’d be impressed with how responsible she and Hama would be with their new necklaces, how they were going to take such good care of such an important present.

Jyn’s parents and Uncle Saw were staring at her as if she’d just announced she invited a full-grown Wookie over for dinner. Galen, Lyra and Saw glanced around at each other, each silently questioning the others, ‘Who’s going to deal with this?’ The tension made her want to explode into tiny Jyn-colored confetti. Hama, beginning to bend under so much weighty silence, squirmed in Saw’s arms and he placed her back on the ground. It was all so strange. Wasn’t Uncle Orsen Papa’s oldest friend? What in the galaxy was going on today?

Lyra sat stiffly on the sofa. “Come here, girls,” she said. Jyn and Hama walked awkwardly toward her and Lyra grasped their small hands in hers, gently rubbing her thumbs down their fingers wearing worry lines into their knuckles. “It’s very important that you never tell anyone about these necklaces. You must keep them with you always and, if someone asks, you must tell them they are a souvenir Grandfather picked up for you at Canto Bright. This is very important, my little Millaflowers. Never tell anyone that your necklaces are made of Kyber. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama,” they answered in unison.

“I’m so proud of you two.” Lyra hugged them close. “You’re good girls.”

“Well, can I at least tell Maia?” Hama looked a little frustrated and confused.

“No, Hama, you can’t tell Maia,” Galen answered. Hama sighed heavily.

“What about Grandfather?” Grandfather, Papa’s now-retired Imperial Admiral father, was one of Jyn and Hama’s favorite people. He was always excited to see them and loved to hear all the tiny details about everything they were doing.

“No, Jyn, you can’t tell Grandfather either.” This necklace was starting to seem like a real bother.

“But, I don’t understand,” Hama stated with clear exasperation. “I thought you liked Maia and Grandfather and Uncle Orsen. Why can’t I tell them? They’re my friends!”

“I know it’s confusing now.” Saw was leaning against the back wall. “Your Mama and Papa and I want to keep you safe. We gave you these necklaces to keep you safe and we’ll teach you to use them. But, you have to trust us. Please don’t tell anyone about the necklaces.” He was walking toward them now, slowly, as if Jyn and Hama had the only thing in the universe that could keep him alive. “Please promise.”

Saw. Jyn wanted to make him happy. She wanted him to be proud of her like Mama. “Yes, Uncle, I promise.”

“Me, too, Uncle. I promise not to tell anyone,” Hama said, her mind an echo of Jyn’s at that moment.

“Thank you,” Lyra whispered into Hama’s hair as she pulled Jyn close to her.

“I thought we were supposed to be blowing up balloons,” Galen complained from across the room.

Jyn rolled her eyes. “No, Papa! We’re doing streamers, remember?”

“Well then, I guess you better come help me, then!” Bright colored rolls spilled out on to the floor and unraveled themselves across the carpet.

* * *

By any measure Jyn could come up with, her party was a wild success. She’d had entirely too much ice cream and ruined her new party dress when Hama smooshed cake into her face and she wiped the blue icing off with the delicate white lace at the hem. Uncle Saw left before the party started, but Grandfather cut short his latest round of visits to the galaxy’s hottest resorts so he could deliver a pair of mini pod-racers to her and Hama. “It’s good for children to have healthy hobbies,” he’d laughed loudly as though he hadn’t just handed the keys to high-powered racing machines to girls young enough that they couldn’t always find their arms and legs in space. Lyra looked like her eyes were going to be forced out of her head from all the stress this was causing. Jyn was ecstatic.

Maia had asked about the necklaces, as it turned out. Hama struggled to come up with the best answer, torn between her tragically honest nature and fulfilling her promise to her mother. Finally, Jyn was forced to answer for her. “Grandfather gave them to us. He found them in Canto Bright.” Maia looked distinctly unconvinced by this story but wisely decided to drop the subject as the Clawdite acrobat had just started her performance and there were more interesting things to think about than the questionable origins of some frankly not very pretty necklaces.

After the acrobat had awed the room in to submission, Jyn found herself getting hungry for yet more ice cream and wandered into the kitchen to investigate the possibility of getting enough sugar in her system to make herself truly sick. Today was her birthday, after all, and weren’t you supposed to get your way on this day? She found Mama at the back of the room firmly entrenched in trying to excavate a very mysterious clod of dirt, rocks, and something very sticky from Hama’s hair. Didn’t they live on the most densely populated city planet in the galaxy? Was there even dirt to be had on Coruscant? Jyn continued her trek toward the freezers and hoped someone in the kitchen would fall for her “cute little birthday girl” routine and give her an extra-large scoop of ice cream with extra sprinkles.

As she rounded the corner, she found her Papa and Uncle Orson standing at the counter apparently deep in an important conversation. Jyn could tell it was important by the way Papa waved his hands in quick, controlled movements and Uncle Orsen kept his voice low and his arms crossed. Tiny alarms went off in her head and Jyn’s movement slowed. She shouldn’t be here. This isn’t for little girls. Jyn stopped just outside he doorway.

“Orson, this is serious. You can’t possibly think that letting him know about this is going to help anyone.” Papa looked worried. “You know what kind of man he is. He’ll take this and run with it.” Papa paused, fingers gripping the counter turning white with something resembling anxiety or possibly anger. “He’ll turn it into a weapon.”

Orson looked as though this was a very stupid idea and Galen must be some sort of conspiracy nut. “No, he won’t. It will be fine. I’ll make sure it’s fine. It’s going to be used for energy production, like I said. That’s it.”

“Energy production?! You can’t seriously be that dense, Orson.” Papa definitely looked angry now. “The amount of energy we’re talking about here could wipe out a planet! You don’t really think they’d just give that up do you?!” A long pause ensued in which Uncle Orson just looked at Galen calmly. Jyn thought he was possibly trying to convey something telepathically but couldn't imagine what. Papa sighed. “Look, I was happy to give the Empire my expertise and research when I believed that this really was some golden dream of unlimited energy for the masses powered by Kyber. But, it’s become abundantly clear to me that this is going to be used as some sort of weapon. I don’t want that blood on my hands.” Papa turned toward the counter.

Uncle Orson had a look that Jyn could only guess was meant to reassure Papa, but she couldn’t quite decipher it. He continued to stare at Papa for a few more interminable seconds. Finally, he just cleared his throat. “Look, Galen. You’ve been under a lot of stress. Your job is demanding. You’ve got two little girls to care for. Lyra hasn’t worked since you came back to the capital. Why don’t you take a couple of weeks off? Take your girls some place warm and sunny. Let them see an ocean. Jyn and Hama would love that, don’t you think?” It’s true. Jyn would love to see an ocean. She’d desperately wanted to do that since Grandfather brought that shell bracelet. Uncle Orson continued, “If it helps, I’ll even see what I can do to find Lyra a job. I’m sure she gets tired of being at home all the time.” Just then, Uncle Orson looked over Galen’s shoulder and noticed Jyn standing in the doorway. “Hey, Jyn honey. How are you enjoying the party? Did you like the acrobat?”

Jyn nodded and walked into the kitchen. “Papa, can I have more ice cream? Please?”

Uncle Orsen laughed and Jyn started to feel better. Maybe they didn’t really hate each other. “More Ice cream, little Miss? Didn’t have an extra-large scoop earlier? And didn’t you say you couldn’t finish your supper because you were too full just half an hour ago?”

Jyn shook her head. “No! That was my diner tummy! It’s full of dinner. But, my ice cream tummy is empty!”

Papa and Uncle Orson laughed hard at this and Papa picked her up and sat her on the counter. “Oh, alright, little Stardust. You can have more ice cream. But, just this once, since it’s your birthday.” He started to pull a bowl and spoon from the cabinet.

“So, what do you say, Galen? Does this sound like something you can live with?” Uncle Orson looked truly concerned about Papa.

Papa scooped ice cream and didn’t respond right away. Finally, he sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll talk about it with Lyra. But, I still want answers, Orson. I can’t have my research used to create weapons of mass destruction.”

“Deal,” Uncle Orson replied. “We’ll talk about it as soon as you get back from your vacation.”


	2. Cassian's 11th Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassian's 11th birthday starts with people actually remembering that today is his birthday, a most unusual occurrence. He gets ready for the day, but he can't escape the feeling that something is missing. Special friends, the ones he'd found in a rock pile in Feist as a small child, are conspicuous in their absence today and his fingers twitch to find them again. If he listens hard enough, he can almost hear them whispering to him from somewhere across the galaxy.

On the morning of his 11th birthday, Cassian was woken up by his Staff Sargant crashing into the barracks and rudely turning the lights on. He shouted for everyone to, “Up and at ‘em.” SSgt. Zar strolled through the rows of bunks and calmly observing his troops as they grudgingly rolled out of their beds. “We’re scheduled to depart at 0730, so be ready by then.” Cassian rubbed his eyes, yawned and finished pulling his boots on. Thank God, Gods, Whatever, he remembered to shower last night before collapsing into his bunk.

SStg. Zar stopped in front of his bunk and coolly watched him blouse his pants around his combat boots. “I understand today is your birthday, son.”

“Yes, sir,” Cassian responded. He stood and started buttoning his jacket. This officially marked the first time in three years that anyone other than Nuria had bothered to remember his birthday.

“You’ll get extra rations this morning. Let me know when you’re done with breakfast. I have something to discuss with you.” SSgt. Zar wasn’t one for sentimentality. Cassian would know. He’d been with Vanhij Zar since he started, way back on Feist in the Insurrectionist cell. But birthdays were rarely marked, so this must be important. He was the youngest soldier in the unit by almost 4 years, but that wasn’t all that extraordinary. Kids younger than him showed up at the ARG all the time looking for someone to take them in after some atrocity or other had killed their family. He himself had come here at 9, but he’d been fighting since he was 6.

In fact, on his 6th birthday, his sister Nuria, who was 7 years older than him and the coolest, bravest, most amazing person he’d ever met, took him on a walk through the hills outside their tiny town on Feist. They’d walked this way probably a hundred times before. He’d followed behind her bouncing along the trail, avoiding the iciest parts. When Nuria had asked him what special thing he wanted to do for his birthday, he automatically responded with walking in the hills. “Same trail as always?” she’d asked. He nodded happily. “Ok, Cass, if that’s what you want. But, honestly, I can’t figure out what your thing is about that trail. It’s super boring.” Cassian couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was the fact that they’d done it so many times that he could probably have done it in the dark. Maybe it was that it was easy for his child legs to negotiate this trail and it wasn’t as icy as the others. Something about this trail kept pulling him back.

They walked for almost an hour when Nuria announced she needed to rest and tie her shoes. As she knelt, Cassian watched her, then he watched the rocks around them. His eyes came to rest on some tiny tufts of grass desperately trying to eke out an existence on the unforgiving Feist surface. Something moved in his peripheral vision, like a shadow or the tail end of a dog. Cassian turned his head to look at it. There was nothing but ice and rocks. A wind picked up lightly and brushed past his cheek, ruffling his hair. The shadow moved again, just on his periphery. He turned his head a little more to see. Nothing. He peered at the rocks and ice, carefully raking his vision over them for any sign of life to explain the shadow in his vision but nothing stood out. Except for a glint that almost wasn’t a glint. It almost wasn’t anything at all. He stepped off the trail and started carefully climbing the field of scree to see if he could get closer to the glint.

“Where are you going, Cass?” Nuria had finished tying her shoes.

“There’s something up here. I want to look at it.” Cassian continued climbing.

“Just be careful. Mom would murder me if you came back with a broken head or something.”

Cassian climbed, just a little bit further. He could see the glint every so often. Although he could tell he was getting closer, the glint didn’t seem to be getting any clearer. He had no idea what it was until he was standing right on top of it. A crystal. Large and a little cloudy, when he touched it, it felt warm. Rocks left outside on Feist for untold eons should be cold. Freezing, even in direct sunshine. Almost cold enough to give you frost bite. But, not this rock. This one felt warm, like a low fire or a hug from a friend. He picked it up and it almost immediately broke cleanly into two identical parts. Like a set of twins. He held them in his hand for a couple of minutes, just staring at them. It was almost like the crystals were a person and he could almost see their face if only he could concentrate just a little more.

“What’cha got there, Cass?” Nuria called to him.

“A rock.” He started to walk down the scree carefully, being careful to place his feet just so to prevent him sliding all the way down the hill on his face. When he got to the bottom, Nuria looked at them.

“Pretty,” she said. Nuria wouldn’t know ‘pretty’ if it came with a neon sign. “Put them in your pocket and you can ask Dad about it when you get home.” Cassian placed them carefully in his pocket and he and Nuria continued their birthday walk. The whole time, he could have sworn he could hear the crystals trying to talk to him, but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.

When they got back to town, Nuria fulfilled her other birthday promise: she took him to the base and let him see where she lived with her resistance unit. He even met the local Captain. Cassian knew right then and there that he wanted this. The desire burned into him like a hot brand, scalding his skin and marking him forever. He asked if he could come back the next day and the Captain laughed. “If you come back tomorrow, we’ll recruit you, you know. You’ll have to be one of us tomorrow.” Cassian didn’t need to think twice about it.

That night, his mother had cried. She’d made him a special dinner just for his birthday and even managed to find money to buy him new shoes to wear to school. When Cassian announced he was going to join the local cell, just like his much-admired older sister, his mother and father looked as though someone had told them he had a terminal illness. Mother tried to persuade him not to go. She’d already lost two children to this senseless killing and she had no intention of losing another. Father demanded to know why Nuria had taken him to the resistance cell in the first place. Children had no business going there, didn’t she know that? She had no business dragging her innocent little brother into this. It was so irresponsible. Reckless. Thoughtless. Didn’t that Captain of hers have any morals, teaching young children to kill?

Cassian wondered what ‘irresponsible’ and ‘reckless’ and ‘thoughtless’ meant and forgot to ask about his crystals.

* * *

At breakfast, the camp cook, technically a ‘culinary specialist’, whatever that meant, served him an extra helping of egg-substitute and an extra scoop of meal. “It’s no ice cream, but it’ll do. Happy 11th birthday, kid.”

Cassian had no idea what this ice cream business was. He knew what ice was. He’d seen plenty of that growing up on Feist. Why on earth would anyone want to eat it? “Thanks, Johnlan.” He took his birthday breakfast and sat down. The last time he’d had a special birthday breakfast was when he was 7. His mother, still desperately hoping to get him to leave this silly fight behind, would bring him home-cooked food about once a week, trying to remind him of what he was missing if he just came home. He was glad she came, even though he didn’t want to leave. He loved his mother and he didn’t like to see her cry. But, something about the resistance, the training, the barracks, the spying, the reconnaissance, the learning to sabotage Storm Trooper armor just so, kept him coming back. Every time he thought, “Today is the day. I’m going to go home and make Mom happy,” he found his feet carrying him back to the base, back to his bunk. It was so strange, like a pull right from his middle, like a string tied around his spine tugging him gently back, toward the Insurrectionists. It didn’t help that the crystals would burn hotter every time he thought about leaving, like they were angry with him for giving up or something. “Please,” they could almost whisper. If he was being honest, he didn’t need much persuasion to stay. He wanted to stay. He wanted this.

After he’d eaten breakfast with his mother that morning and she finished trying to convince him to come home, she’d pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead and then his temple. “I love you, Cassian. Don’t forget that. And if you ever want to come home, I’ll be there, waiting for you.”  She’d wrapped him in a hug and then stood to leave.

Corporal Zar, a tall, stoic, intimidating Iktotchi with more experience than nearly anyone he knew, had given him an assignment. “Private!” he’d announced, “As today is your 7th birthday, I’m giving you a special task. Find out about the new guard rotations on the base. I want numbers, private, times, locations, everything. If you do well, I’ll teach you to assemble and clean a rifle tomorrow. So, get to it!” Cassian was so excited he almost came out of his skin. A special assignment. Just for him! Cpl. Zar must trust him so much!

Cassian, dressed as casually as he could to avoid drawing attention to himself, had walked calmly through the streets. Nothing to see here. Just a regular 7-year-old doing kid stuff, like a kid. Nothing suspicious about this at all. His hand brushed the crystals in his pocket and their warmth helped ground him.

He’d stationed himself across from the main gate. He’d stay here for a few hours while he figured out how often the guard changed and then check on the side gates. He pulled out some games to ‘play’ while he watched. Kids play games, right? That’s a normal kid thing to do? He started counting. Two guards on each side, they both held rifles. Two guards checking IDs. Masks on. Rifles ready. Waiting. More waiting. Lots of waiting. Guards appeared in the watch tower about half an hour later. They were only there for about 15 minutes before disappearing again. Or maybe it’s just that Cassian couldn’t see them? Also, when did they install towers? He should try to get on top of one of these apartment blocks, see if he could investigate one of the guard towers that way, see what they’re up to in there. But, not right now. That would have to wait. So, he continued to wait. Every hour, someone would appear at the watch tower and stick around for about 15 minutes before leaving. The guards at the gate never moved, not even a little bit to relieve the pressure in their joints or feet. After about 6 hours of this, he was starting to wonder if the guard ever changed or if they were just bolted to the ground. Just then a side door cracked from the wall. 6 new troopers filed out and two more stayed guarding this side door. The new guards relieved the old, the new took their stations and the old filed themselves back through the door which seemed to vanish into the smooth concrete of the base walls. Damn. If he was going to watch two rotations, he wasn’t going to get to the other gates today. Plus, wouldn’t it look funny if a 7-year-old kid were just ‘playing’ in front of the main gate for 12 straight hours?

As he was contemplating what to do to make himself seem less suspicious, a monk came and planted himself on the steps of the nearby apartment complex. The monk set out a bowl in front of him and started to sip from a cup Cassian didn’t remember him having a moment ago. Cassian thought he might start chanting soon, but nothing happened. The monk just watched the people walking by. Cassian went back to his ‘games’.

“That’s not how you play that game, little warrior.” Hearing the monk talk to him was the very last thing Cassian expected. “If you’re going to pretend to be something, you should pretend with everything you are. It’s more believable that way. Give it your full attention.”

“What?” Cassian had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

“If you played the game correctly, little warrior, you wouldn’t stand out so much while you’re watching the guards.” The monk sipped from his cup again.

The hair on the back of Cassian’s neck stood up. How did the monk know what he was up to? “I’m not watching them. I’m waiting for my sister.” He tried to sound as convincing as possible.

“Of course, you are. When is she supposed to show up? After two guard rotations?”

Cassian bristled and said nothing. Clearly, this man was a spy or a threat or something.

“I meant no offense, little warrior. One should always stand up to tyranny when possible. You have nothing to fear from me.” Cassian had no idea what ‘tyranny’ was, and he wasn’t at all certain this monk posed no threat. “Come sit, little warrior. I have some food if you’re hungry.” The monk pulled out a bread packet from his pocket and poured it into the bowl followed by some of whatever was in his cup. The bread dutifully ballooned up and Cassian had to admit that he was hungry. He hadn’t expected to be here this long. Cassian walked over and sat on the step and pulled the tiniest piece of bread off he possibly could.

The monk turned and looked at him for the first time. He looked young, but he was bald, wore simple black robes and his eyes looked as though a cloud was creeping in. “My name is Chirrut, little warrior. What’s yours?”

“Tyrben,” Cassian responded as he chewed.

Chirrut laughed. “No, it’s not, little warrior. But I won’t press you. You can keep your name if you like.” He drank again from his mysterious cup and Cassian thought about asking if he could have a sip. He was getting thirsty.

“Those are some beautiful crystals you have in your pocket, little warrior. Someone must love you an awful lot to give you such a precious gift.” Cassian had not taken the crystals out of his pocket. How did this pesky monk know about them? “They’re Kyber crystals, did you know that?”

“What’s Kyber?” Why was Cassian talking about this with the monk? He should just leave before this monk gets him in trouble.

“A special crystal. It’s born in the heart of dying stars. When the star dies, the crystals get flung out into the galaxy and make their home on the nearby planets. They’re special because they can feel the Force that flows in all of us. They can even talk to us if we know how to listen. The Jedi used them in their light sabers.”

“How can they talk to us?”

“They sense the Force in you and speak through it. If you learn to listen to the flow of the Force through you, you’ll be able to hear what the Kyber is saying to you.”

“Can you hear what your crystal says?”

Chirrut laughed again. “No, little warrior. I don’t have a crystal.”

“I found these. My sister took me for a walk on my last birthday and I found them outside. It was one, but when I picked it up, it broke into two parts.” Why was he still talking to this man?!

“You’re very lucky, little warrior. Kyber crystals are very rare in this part of the galaxy. It was probably the only one on Feist. It must have been wanted you to find it.” Chirrut talked about the crystals almost as if it were a person. “And to break so cleanly into two identical parts. This is a special crystal indeed.”

Cassian thought about that. The crystals wanted him to find them. He’d been drawn to them as if by a magnet that day. Maybe they were even the reason he’d loved that walk so much back then. If the thought about it, he hadn’t even wanted to walk that way since the day he found the crystals.

“You should watch the guards, little warrior. Learn everything you can from them so you can report to your commander.” Cassian swallowed a large piece of bread and snapped back to reality. That’s right. He’s watching the guards. He has a task to complete.

“Do you want me to show you how to play the game correctly? It will make the guards less suspicious of you if you learn.” Chirrut handed him the mystery cup. Cassian took it and nodded before taking sip, a warm, refreshing sip. Maybe this monk wasn’t such a bad egg after all.

* * *

Breakfast over, Cassian walked to the loading bay to find SSgt. Zar. He made sure his uniform was a neat as possible before heading that way. He put his hands into his pockets search for this Kyber crystals but found nothing. No crystals. Like every time he’d reflexively searched for them in the last year, they were absent. It was so strange. Even all these months later, he still felt like they were here, just in reach. But every time he went to touch them, his fingers came up empty. Last night he’d dreamt that he’d seen them again, but this time as two identical girls. Brown hair, green eyes, hands and hair wild and dirty from play, it’d had almost been as if the girls were standing in front of him, the physical embodiment of the crystals themselves. He’d felt them so strongly last night, the first time in a year, that he was genuinely shocked to find them once again absent from his pockets.

Last year, just before his 10th birthday a little more than a year since Nuria and then Sgt. Zar had brought him to the Atrivis Resistance Group, his cell had been in bad need of supplies. Lacking both a reliable, discrete supply chain and the resources to pay the smugglers, the ARG was quickly running out of options to feed themselves and keep the lights on, literally. Cassian still remembered the nights when he’d gone to bed and tried desperately to focus his mind enough to sleep while quieting the screaming desire for food and the burn of acid in his empty stomach. In the morning, he’d wake with the new hope that today there’d be something to eat only to find that, yet again, it was just a quarter of an instant bread loaf and water, not enough to sustain an adult on a restricted diet, let alone a growing boy. He’d started to wonder why he’d ever listened to Nuria. He’d have been better off with his family. They were all dead now, killed in a massive fire-bomb campaign on Feist in retaliation for the Insurrectionist activity, but at least when he was with them, they’d never been hungry. The need to eat was growing in his mind into a dark and angry monster, clouding his thoughts and forcing him to have disturbing visions he shuddered to name. The ARG was in danger of falling apart.

As if on the wings of some delivering angel, a man Cassian had never even heard of before, Saw Guerra, had arrived in camp. Some of the ARG bigwigs seemed to know him from Onderon, though Cassian wasn’t sure where/what Onderon was. What Cassian did know about was that Saw had claimed to have a source for the ARG to buy supplies if they were interested. And boy, where they. Saw could see the desire writ large on everyone’s face. They were desperate then. The only thing was the amount of supplies they’d needed at the time: food, clothing, fuel, ammunition, spare parts, medicine, bandages, hygiene supplies, bedding, the list went on and on. And that just the list of things they needed immediately, just to stay functioning. It was an expensive list. They didn’t have nearly enough resources to pay for all the things they needed. Granted, a reliable supply chain was a huge help, but it just wasn’t enough to keep them all in any kind of shape. Sacrifices were going to have to be made. What was more necessary? Spare parts or heat? Fuel or medicine?

As the debate started to heat up, Cassian heard, as clear as if it had been spoken directly into his ear, “The answer is us.” Cassian looked around to see who had said that. It had felt awfully close. No one was there. He went back to the debate. He was going to vote for ammunition and food. But mostly food.

“We’re here. It’s us.” It was louder this time, more insistent.

Cassian looked around. What the fuck was that? He nudged Gil, who was sitting to his left. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Gil responded.

“Look at us!” There it was again!

“That!” Cassian hissed. “Can’t you hear it? It said, ‘Look at us!’”

Gil looked like he was convinced Cassian was delusional. “I think your hunger is affecting you, brother. Maybe you should take a moment to get some air. We’ll have this sorted when you get back.”

That wasn’t the issue. This was real, Cassian could feel it. A stinging warmth crept quickly into his pocket. The crystals. They were much hotter than usual. He put his hand in his pocket and wrapped his fingers around them. They were hotter than they’d ever been, almost hot enough to burn his hand. He pulled them out and looked at them. He could hear them clearly now. “Use us to pay for the supplies,” they said, clear as a bell. “If you give us to him, he’ll give you everything you need.” They wanted him to give them away? How could they ask that? He thought they were friends! He couldn’t give his friends away! What if something happened to them? How could he be sure they’d be safe?

As if in answer to his rising fears, they said, “Trust us. Everything will be ok. He’ll know what to do.”

Just then, Gil looked at the crystals. “Aren’t those Kyber? They could probably pay for most of our supplies by themselves.”

With trepidation, as if compelled, Cassian stood and said firmly, “I can pay for the supplies.” No one except Gil heard him.

Gil stood, too, and whistled loudly for the room’s attention. “Pay attention. The kid’s got something important to say.”

The room stilled. Cassian cleared his throat. “I can pay for the supplies.” Everyone just stared at him like he’d told them he was secretly Emperor Palpatine.

“What do you mean by that, son?” Travia Chan had said calmly. “How do you propose to do that?”

Cassian’s feet had started walking on their own, carrying him to the middle of the room. He felt like he was floating, like he was watching himself, but not himself, walk through the room carrying his crystals. Why did he feel so light-headed? When he’d stopped, he found himself standing directly in front of Saw and Travia. He had to remind himself to breath. And then his fingers had slowly uncurled, and the crystals revealed themselves to the room. Two identical Kyber crystals. Large. Beautiful. Valuable. Everyone just stared at him again. His breath faltered again.

“Where did you get these, son?” Saw was watching him as if he couldn’t believe what has happening.

“I found them.” Cassian nearly whispered. His throat had gone inexplicably dry and he struggled to get the words out. The room was on the edge of a pin, straining to hear every syllable. “When I was six. On a walk. When I still lived on Feist. Before the fire-bombing. Before I joined my cell. It was my birthday. I found them.” He felt as though he might pass out at any moment. Saw and Travia looked like they weren’t sure if the believed him or not.

“It’s true.” Across the room, Nuria stood. “I was with him. I took him for a walk on his birthday and he found them in a pile of rocks. We didn’t know they were Kyber until now.” Well, maybe Nuria didn’t. But, to be fair, it had never occurred to him that the crystals might be worth money until they’d told him they were just a few moments ago.

Saw and Travia tuned back to him. “What made you decide to tell us this?” Travia asked.

If he told them the crystals themselves had asked for this, they were all going to think he was nuts. Or Force-sensitive or something. “Gil told me they could pay for supplies.” It wasn’t a lie. Gil had said that.

Saw stared at the crystals and then at him. Something passed over his face, something Cassian couldn’t recognize. Like he was seeing something far away. Or someone. Or maybe the crystals were talking to him now, asking him to take them somewhere. Finally, he seemed to have reached some kind of decision.

“Are you sure about this, son?” Saw asked. “It’s a big decision.”

Cassian nodded slowly. “Yes, sir.”

Travia placed a firm hand on Cassian’s small shoulder. “Thank you, Specialist Andor. You’ve done us a great service today, giving these up to the cause.” Travia turned to Saw. “What do you say, Saw? What can we get if we add the Kyber crystals to our other resources?”

Saw was still staring at the crystals. He picked one up and held it in his large palm. He looked so far away now Cassian wasn’t sure he could even hear Travia talking. “I’ll get you the supplies you need,” he said finally.

“Will this be enough to cover everything?” Travia asked.

“I’ll get the all the supplies,” Saw repeated.

“We’ll hold on to the crystals and hand them over when you get back with the supplies,” Travia negotiated.

“Fine,” Saw responded. He wasn’t negotiating for some reason. He was just accepting. “That’s fine.” Saw placed the crystals back in Cassian’s palm. He still looked far away somewhere.

“Well, we’ll expect you back in a couple of weeks then?” Travia looked at Saw like he was worried Saw might not be taking this seriously.

“I’ll be back by the end of the week,” Saw replied, still staring.

“Oh!” Travia was genuinely surprised by this for some reason. “Well, ok then. We’ll see you at the end of the week.”

The meeting adjourned. Everyone retired to the courtyard of their little compound. The adults broke into the last of the tsiraki. They were saved. It seemed like a miracle. Even if it all turned out to be false hope, at least they had it for tonight and they were going to milk it.

People kept coming up to Cassian and thanking him. Nuria found him and hugged him tightly. “Thanks, little brother. It’s lucky we took that walk, eh? Who knew your pesky habit would save us one day, right?” Cassian could only agree. It was amazingly lucky or something. Or something.

Saw stared at him the whole time and his gaze made Cassian wish he really had died in the fires that consumed Feist barely more than a year ago. He felt confused and frightened under this weight. He was increasingly certain that the decision to give the crystals away in exchange for food and supplies had consequences he couldn’t understand. Like he was looking down a corridor and couldn’t quite see what was at the other end. Saw also looked like he was struggling to understand something. Like he was genuinely surprised by all that had happened that day. Confusion surrounded him like a cloud keeping the revelry at bay. Cassian thought about going up to thank him for taking care of his crystals for him but thought better of it when he turned and found Saw staring directly into his eyes from across the yard. Cassian slunk into another dark corner and tried to avoid any more attention for the night.

To everyone’s surprise, Saw had kept his promise and showed up with enough food, medical supplies, ammunition, fuel, spare parts and even weapons to last several months. “Hopefully your luck will turn by the time this all runs out,” he’d said. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to make a run like this again, but I can put you in touch with my supplier if you ever have resources to buy more later.”

Travia was so grateful he almost didn’t respond for a couple of seconds. “Thank you, Saw. Really. Thank you. This is a huge help.”

“Yeah, well…” Saw responded but didn’t finish the sentence.

“Specialist Andor,” Travia called.

This was it. The moment he and his crystals were going to part ways. He was going to stay here with the ARG. They were going to go…somewhere. Cassian could hardly bear the idea of being parted from them. They’d been companions, friends, for years now. They’d kept his little hands warm when the bite of Feist threatened them. They’d kept him company on long recon missions alone. They whispered once again to him, “Trust us,” and Cassian stepped forward. He drew the crystals out of his pocket and held them out to Saw.

Saw knelt, looked at the crystals and clasped Cassian’s open hand in his large paws. He looked directly into Cassian’s eyes and spoke. “Thank you, son. This won’t be forgotten.” Then, he rose, took the crystals from Cassian’s hand, placed them in his pocket, and walked off to finish the deal with Travia.

Cassian stared after them. Why the hell had Saw just thanked him?

* * *

Cassian walked into the loading bay, his uniform crisp, his boots shining. He had no idea what to expect this morning, especially since this birthday was so unlike the others he’d had recently. He’d gotten extra food. SSgt. Zar remembered that today was his birthday, something that had literally only happened once in the 5 years he’d known him. Whatever was going on, it was probably best to show up looking like the model soldier. SSgt. Zar was waiting for him in the bay when he got there. Nuria and woman Cassian didn’t recognize were with him. They looked like they were inspecting something in one of the crates.

“Specialist Andor.” SSgt. Zar turned to him as he approached. “I’m glad you could make it. This is Captain Versé Grava. She runs our Special Operations division. Much of her work happens off world. Gathering intelligence. Locating informants. That sort of thing.”

Cassian saluted as he spoke. “Very glad to meet you, Sir.”

Cpt. Grava smiled at this. “At ease, Specialist Andor.” Cassian relaxed slightly. She leaned back into the crate. “I heard today is your birthday, young man. Staff Sargant Zar tells me you’ve been with him exactly 5 years today.”

“That’s correct, Sir.” He kept his spine straight, feet planted firmly to the ground.

“He also says you’re on the best recon specialists he’s ever worked with.”

“I try my best, Sir.”

She adjusted her position. “Very well. The reason I came here today is to bring you this.” She handed him a pistol.

Cassian’s eyes went wide. “This is a WESTAR-30,” he breathed and reached for the gun. Although more mass produced than the famous WESTAR-34, and considerably more available, it was still not a cheap weapon by any means. Cassian had, of course, seen them before, but always on select officers. He had never seen enlisted personnel carrying something so valuable. He wondered what he had done to deserve this. “Why are you giving this to me?”

“Isn’t it obvious, little brother,” Nuria practically laughed. “You’re being promoted!”

Cassian looked confused. This was not an appropriate side-arm for a Sargant. His brow furrowed.

“Remember all those tests we had you take recently?” Zar asked. Cassian nodded. In the last month, he’d, for some unknown reason, been tested on every aspect of his military life. There’d been a written test on ARG command protocols and structure, a shooting test, a test to see how fast and accurately he could assemble and disassemble his rifle, a surprise mission leading a small team of younger company members in recon, and a longer solo mission actually inside the local Trooper base where he had to find and sabotage, or possibly steal, supplies inside their warehouse. It had all seemed strange, to be honest. “Those tests were to see if you’re ready to join the ARG Special Forces.”

“You’re going to be a spy, little brother!” Nuria looked like she wanted to hug him but didn’t.

Cassian didn’t know what to say. It was like a dream. He couldn’t believe his luck. He’d always wanted to be part of something important here. Something more impactful than firing blaster rifles at white, thermoplastic armor. And here was the chance to do just that. As the realization of what Nuria and SSgt. Zar had said washed over him, he felt the excitement well up inside his chest, spilling into his throat. “Really?” Cassian looked around. Cpt. Grava nodded. “Thank you,” was all he could say.

“This means, of course, that you’ve shown up to this meeting shamefully ill-dressed, soldier,” Cpt. Grava scolded. Cassian looked down at his uniform. Ill-dressed? What on earth was wrong with his uniform? “As part of your promotion to the Special Forces, you are hereby given a commission. You are now Second Lieutenant Cassian Andor, ARG Special Forces. Your training starts today, soldier.” She handed him a new uniform, neatly pressed, an officer’s uniform, complete with way too cool leather jacket. “I expect to see you back here in half an hour, correctly dressed this time, packed and ready to ship out to your new assignment.”

“The youngest officer in ARG history,” SSgt. Zar noted. “You deserve it, Cassian. I’m proud of you.”

Cassian was getting all choked up with how much this all meant to him. He gripped the blaster a little bit tighter. “Thank you, Sirs.” He saluted and practically skipped out of the loading bay back to his bunk. He changed into his new uniform and took just a moment to reflect on it, the way it set on him. It must have been specially made just for him, seeing has how he was definitely the shortest offer he’d ever seen. He started to pack his seven personal belongings: toothbrush, tooth paste, hair brush, soap, towel, the pocket watch his father had given him on his 8th birthday just before he was gunned down by the Empire’s soldiers at a protest on Carida, a scarf his mother had knitted for him. He instinctively reached for the crystals again, but, as always, came up empty. He paused for a moment, thinking, listening for them. He could almost hear them now if he paid attention. “Closer,” they whispered. Cassian smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I promised that this story would include both Jyn and Cassian and the first chapter had a noticeable absence of Cassian and an OC. So, I'm making it up with an absurdly long chapter about Cassian's childhood and all his terrible birthdays. Please read and review! It's super helpful to me if you leave reviews as this is, seriously, my first fiction and I could really use constructive feedback.

**Author's Note:**

> I realize I've broken a cardinal rule of fan fiction by creating an original character like this. But, I really felt like Jyn and Galen lacked any motivation for their actions in the original story. For example, why would Galen continue to work for the Empire knowing they didn't control the fate of his only daughter and his wife was dead? If he opposed the Empire creating the Death Star, which he obviously did or he wouldn't have made the infamous fatal flaw in the design, why would he willingly create the stupid thing knowing there was a fair chance Jyn would die in Saw's army long before she had the chance to decipher his cryptic message? Either he's a lunatic or he has a very wishy-washy moral center, neither of which lends itself easily to good story telling and isn't particularly relatable. Plus, why would Jyn agree to see her father again after he essentially caused her mother's death and did nothing to prevent her from being exploited by Saw? I think a lot of people would justifiably say, "Shoot him if you like. I don't really care." For that matter, why would Jyn even stay with Saw if he was such a jerk?
> 
> So, anywho, I made up a twin sister for Jyn to spice things up and set up a better reason for Galen to keep working for the Empire and for Jyn to try to find him again. I'm not really planning to write from Hama's perspective. It's going to be POV Jyn and Cassian for the whole thing.
> 
> Please review! This is my first fan fiction after years of avidly reading everything I could get my hands on. Let me know what you think and what can be improved!


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